Shadows and Mist
by Storylover Vodhr
Summary: And as the hero wandered throughout the world, he found nary a soul. And as he searched more and more, further and further, the hero found himself wondering if there was ever anyone left to save.


**A/N Here we are! A new story, when I should be working on other things.**

 **But, I couldn't help it, this story was just sitting there, being all shiny.**

 **So, yada yada, Warnings. Link/Mipha for ship, AU, Character death for obvious reasons and many not-so-obvious reasons. Oh, and this story gonna be Dark. Dark with a capital D. So dark, it gonna be M without much swearing or any sex. If you can think it, it'll probably get brought up, so if you get squeamish, here's your chance to bow out. (Although most will be just implied bad stuff, with the exception of violence.)**

 **Oh, and I plan on changing many things, and it will be at least slightly AU. But, it will have a happy end. They'll just have to work for it.**

 **Although I may end up tacking a horror tag on this when it's all said and done. Not sure, I'll leave that bit up to y'all once the story gets going proper. So, without further adieu, here is Shadows and Mist! Tell me what you think, and don't hold back!**

 _ **Link's starting hearts: One quarter heart out of three.**_

* * *

He opened his eyes.

It was a surprisingly difficult thing to do to be honest, and he didn't know exactly why he ever bothered to do so, the hearty allure of returning to his undetermined slumber still tugging at him. But, regardless of reason, he managed to pry his crusty, bleary eyes open, and once he was aware enough to register his own sight, the Hylian found himself staring at a unfamiliar ceiling.

Stone inscribed with runes, with a small portion sitting directly above him, almost as if it were a lid to the bed he currently sat in. The man thought about this for a moment, before shaking his head weakly. He had more important things to deal with; His stomach was empty, his skin raw and sensitive, and his lungs feeling somehow chalky and dry, as if they were coated in a fine layer of dust. A stone ceiling was of very little importance, at least for now.

And, as the Hylian sat there, he found that he was full of questions as his mind slowly grew conscious. Such as the first, and arguably, the most important question to answer; Where was he?

The question carried a sense of unknown urgency with it, one that felt not entirely his own, but regardless of this, his thoughts and memories immediately betrayed him; He could not recall anything. Where he was, what had happened, how he got here, why he felt like he had gone twelve rounds with a lynel. Hell, after a moment of searching, he found that he couldn't even remember his own name. All he knew was that he was uncomfortable; The water he sat in felt both tepid and somehow foul, licking at his skin and leaving a slimy, unclean feeling that took several moments to leave, and the stone beneath it was hard and unyielding.

So, he did the first thing that came to mind and sat up, feeling his incredibly stiff spine object to his sudden movement as he did so, popping and creaking as he fully brought himself to sit up. How long had he been sitting here? He didn't have an answer to his own question, instead letting out a half-hearted cough, one that he could've swore produced actual dust, but he couldn't help but feel his unknown and foreign resolve coalesce as he coughed again.

That was the last time he would willingly nap on stone and water.

With that in mind, the man clumsily found himself swinging his legs to the side of the stone tub, before forcing himself weakly to his feet. For whatever reason, he *knew* that he couldn't stay here. There were things to do, people to see, and life was passing him by as he sat in a tub of stone. That simply wouldn't do.

So, without an ounce of hesitation, the Hylian rose to his feet proper, before nearly collapsing down to the floor almost immediately after. His legs wiggled and shook violently, and the man actually found himself forced to sit back down for a moment, his legs already burning from the few seconds of exertion that he put onto them.

Well, so much for that idea. He could barely stand, let alone walk, and his arms weren't too far behind, already feeling like he was at his limit in just helping sitting up. How would he go and see these imaginary and unknown people now, if he couldn't even stand properly?

His question didn't get any sort of answer, but the man didn't expect one. He just knew that, for some strange, otherworldly reason, he had to get out and about. And it made sense; He couldn't just sit here and starve, just because he felt that a nap was more important. But, there was still the fact that his legs wouldn't bear weight, and that his arms were very close behind them.

But he *Had* to leave, his gut and heart and, well, pretty much everything screaming at him to do so. Heck, even his nonfunctional legs seemed to agree, the traitors.

Maybe he'd try again. He did give up rather fast last time, and now that his legs had gotten a little warm up, he'd fare better.

The logic was there. Flawed, yes, but nothing was perfect.

And that was how he found himself pushing his legs further, forcing them to warm up from their apparent disuse as he stood back up fully, without a moment's hesitance. No, he wouldn't let something as pitiful as gravity best him. He'd just have to take this one step at a time. And wouldn't you know it, his legs were already faring better than previous.

One step...

Two...

And three. On the third step, the Hylian found his left leg slipping from beneath him, the foul water that coated him making the bottom of his bare feet slick, and with his already weakened stature, he didn't stand a chance. He immediately crumpled sideways to the cold, unforgiving floor, before making a small, pained groan. The fall didn't hurt much, doing little more than giving him a sore side, but his pride could not say the same.

He should probably just lay here. After all, he didn't even have a real reason to get up, and right now, he didn't even have the strength to get up, even if he wanted to.

But, his unknown and foreign sense of drive peeped up at the defeatist thoughts, and before he could think truly about it, he found himself once again trying to get back to his feet, clumsily rolling onto his belly to do some sort of weak, clumsy abomination of a push up as he slowly rose back up, grabbing onto the edge of the still-nearby tub to help him rise. This time, he took it quite a bit slower, learning from his mistakes, before hesitantly rising to his feet as his legs once again began to shake violently.

Alright. Good. Upwards was progress, and he was feeling stronger already.

It was at this moment that the Hylian bothered to take in his surroundings proper, beyond the ceiling that is, doing so half out of curiosity and half out of procrastination. The room was small, stone, dark, and unassuming. And, beyond his supposed bed/coffin, there was a naught but a singular, glowing pedestal to fill the empty space between him and a closed door. At least, he hoped it was a door. That was the only section that looked like a way out.

As good a place as any to aim towards, and maybe, the pedestal would be a way to open said door. And so, with a target in mind, the hylian began to walk once more, this time taking it slow and carefully stepping as he moved forward, his hands held out in an attempt to help keep his balance as he moved slowly towards his target.

This wasn't so bad. And now that he was actually up and about, his legs seemed to be growing more and more efficient and seeming to awake properly as he moved. All in all, a good bit of progress.

Even if the pedestal was quite a bit farther than he would've liked. And before he knew it, he found himself desperately grasping the edge of the pedestal, using it to brace himself as he let his legs rest, the weakness, while slowly abating, still there.

Victory.

 _You're such a pathetic little hylian._

The unknown insult, or more accurately, the memory of it, echoed throughout his head, and the Hylian mind helpfully recognized it, even being oh-so considerate enough to put a name to it's mocking tone.

Revali.

He didn't have a face or anything else to put to the voice, but that didn't matter much to him. After all, he found that he could remember a possible enemy or bully, but not his own name. It was a strange feeling, as if one's mind was actively plotting against him. Giving him only the smallest of tidbits and urges, desires and duties that he himself didn't recognize.

And, heck, maybe this Revali was right, and he was just a pathetic, weak little Hylian that couldn't even get his own mind to listen to him. Yet, at the same time, he reflexibly refused that thought.

And maybe, this Revali was instead a total tool.

He found that he liked that idea a bit better. Sounded somewhat correct, too, the insult sounding almost like a half-forgotten memory.

Maybe past-him thought this Revali was a tool too.

*Click*

At the very unexpected noise, the hylian jolted slightly, torn from his thoughts. Oh yes, The pedestal. The thing he was holding onto, which was now extended slightly and holding out some sort of plate for him to grab, a glowing eye-like rune on it's face, a handle conveniently on its top. A thing that he had almost completely not noticed, had it not made enough of a ruckus to drag him out of his own head.

The Hylian stared at the unknown plate for a moment, before feeling the now familiar urge to grab it, a feeling that came from nowhere much like many of his current thoughts.

So he did so. At this point, anything else would be deviating from the norm. And, as he did, the pedestal made a light click as it's cargo was freed from it's grasp, and the male began to look it over. It was surprisingly light, and surprisingly familiar.

In fact, this was just like when he and...

Something. Almost as quickly as it appeared, the sense of familiarity disappeared, and the Hylian was left with a sense of emptiness once more as he stared at it's glowing blue screen. Brilliant. He was so close.

*User Identified. User: "Link" Registered.*

Oh. The man, staring at the screen, before smiling a bit at the gift this piece of metal had gifted him.

Link.

It certainly sounded familiar. Right.

So, he was Link. At least he hoped. It was a unknown piece of something or other, and just because it was found in a cave didn't make it's observations automatically right.

*KACHUNK*

The unexpected noise, unlike the previous one, made Link jump, and he reflexively spun somewhat before once again losing his balance and falling to the floor, this time mercifully landing on his butt. But, as he did so, the Hylian saw that the previously closed door was now open, and better yet, that he could now see what he hoped was sunlight, the thought bringing him some relief.

At least he wasn't trapped.

With that in mind, the Hylian once again grabbed the edge of the pedestal and helped himself back to his feet, before this time walking clumsily towards the newly opened door, his still weak legs slowly growing stronger as he moved into the next room. And, the first thing that he noticed was that the new room was much less... clean than the previous one he found himself in, with debris and rubble all around him.

And, it got worse the further out he got. In fact, he found himself struggling with both walking, and avoiding stepping on something that could harm his bare feet as he slowly continued out, passing a smashed barrel and the remnants of a shattered bottle. But, regardless of these troubles, the Hylian would not be denied, and he continued to make progress, until he got to a chest that stood directly in his path.

Something that might contain something useful.

What followed was something that would haunt Link for the rest of his days. Before he could stop himself, the hylian reflexibly kicked a foot forward, roughly kicking the upper part of the chest in an attempt to open it, and instead managed to nearly break his toe, somehow finding that one moment to have enough strength to actually do something. He actually managed to hop a few times on his one leg, holding his now wounded foot in pain, before the exertion proved to be too much for his weakened leg, and the Hylian collapsed upon the top of the chest, now a mixture of embarrassed and furious.

Nope, Revali was right. He was definitely pathetic. Here he was, laying face down on a wooden box, unable to stand because he thought that kicking things without shoes was a good idea. He was a moron.

 _Such a weak little Hylian, too_.

And Revali was definitely a tool.

In a surge of anger, Link stood back up, ignoring his now sore foot, and grabbed the edge of the roughly hewn chest, yanking it open, before looking at the contents inside. At this point, it was more of his victory over the chest than it was whatever was inside. But, once he got to see the contents, he changed his opinion pretty quick.

There was a pair of pants, dirty and threadbare and, more importantly, a pair of used and semi-intact shoes. A glorious find, if there ever was one. The Hylian actually managed to forget his anger, instead happily dropping to the ground and clumsily trying to put the newly found clothing on. It took him a few moments, but once he was done, he stood shakily back up, his legs wobbling, and gave the now empty chest another kick.

He was semi-clothed, awake, and the exit was naught but twenty feet away, and with it, freedom.

Link was now ready for the world.

* * *

 ** _Link's ending hearts: One quarter heart out of three._**


End file.
